Sea Ice Off Research Articles

Recent changes in pan-Arctic sea ice, lake ice, and snow-on/off timing

Abstract. Arctic snow and ice cover are vital indicators of climate variability and change, yet while the Arctic shows overall warming and dramatic changes in snow and ice cover, the response of these high-latitude regions to recent climatic change varies regionally. Although previous studies have examined changing snow and ice separately, examining phenology changes across multiple components of the cryosphere together is important for understanding how these components and their response to climate forcing are interconnected. In this work, we examine recent changes in sea ice, lake ice, and snow together at the pan-Arctic scale using the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System 24 km product from 1997–2019, with a more detailed regional examination from 2004–2019 using the 4 km product. We show overall that for sea ice, trends toward earlier open water (−7.7 d per decade, p<0.05) and later final freeze (10.6 d per decade, p<0.05) are evident. Trends toward earlier first snow-off (−4.9 d per decade, p<0.05), combined with trends toward earlier first snow-on (−2.8 d per decade, p<0.05), lead to almost no change in the length of the snow-free season, despite shifting earlier in the year. Sea ice-off, lake ice-off, and snow-off parameters were significantly correlated, with stronger correlations during the snow-off and ice-off season compared to the snow-on and ice-on season. Regionally, the Bering and Chukchi seas show the most pronounced response to warming, with the strongest trends identified toward earlier ice-off and later ice-on. This is consistent with earlier snow-off and lake ice-off and later snow-on and lake ice-on in west and southwest Alaska. In contrast to this, significant clustering between sea ice, lake ice, and snow-on trends in the eastern portion of the North American Arctic shows an earlier return of snow and ice. The marked regional variability in snow and ice phenology across the pan-Arctic highlights the complex relationships between snow and ice, as well as their response to climatic change, and warrants detailed monitoring to understand how different regions of the Arctic are responding to ongoing changes.

Toward a Consistent Definition between Satellite and Model Clear-Sky Radiative Fluxes

AbstractA new method of determining clear-sky radiative fluxes from satellite observations for climate model evaluation is presented. The method consists of applying adjustment factors to existing satellite clear-sky broadband radiative fluxes that make the observed and simulated clear-sky flux definitions more consistent. The adjustment factors are determined from the difference between observation-based radiative transfer model calculations of monthly mean clear-sky fluxes obtained by ignoring clouds in the atmospheric column and by weighting hourly mean clear-sky fluxes with imager-based clear-area fractions. The global mean longwave (LW) adjustment factor is −2.2 W m−2at the top of the atmosphere and 2.7 W m−2at the surface. The LW adjustment factors are pronounced at high latitudes during winter and in regions with high upper-tropospheric humidity and cirrus cloud cover, such as over the west tropical Pacific, and the South Pacific and intertropical convergence zones. In the shortwave (SW), global mean adjustment is 0.5 W m−2at TOA and −1.9 W m−2at the surface. It is most pronounced over sea ice off of Antarctica and over heavy aerosol regions, such as eastern China. However, interannual variations in the regional SW and LW adjustment factors are small compared to those in cloud radiative effect. After applying the LW adjustment factors, differences in zonal mean cloud radiative effect between observations and climate models decrease markedly between 60°S and 60°N and poleward of 65°N. The largest regional improvements occur over the west tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans. In contrast, the impact of the SW adjustment factors is much smaller.

Arctic fox dispersal from Svalbard to Canada: one female’s long run across sea ice

We report the first satellite tracking of natal dispersal by an Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) between continents and High-Arctic ecosystems. A young female left Spitsbergen (Svalbard Archipelago, Norway) on 26 March 2018 and reached Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, 76 days later, after travelling a cumulative distance of 3506 km, bringing her ca. 1789 km away (straight-line distance) from her natal area. The total cumulative distance travelled during the entire tracking period, starting when she left her natal area on 1 March 2018 and ending when she settled on Ellesmere Island on 1 July 2018, was 4415 km. This is among the longest dispersal events ever recorded for an Arctic fox. Crossing extensive stretches of sea ice and glaciers, the female moved at an average rate of 46.3 km/day ± 41.1 SD. The maximum movement rate was 155 km/day and occurred on the ice sheet in northern Greenland. This is the fastest movement rate recorded for this species. The northernmost location recorded was on the sea ice off northern Greenland at a latitude of 84.7°N. The Arctic fox was of the blue colour morph typical for coastal environments, where Arctic foxes are adapted to food webs without lemmings but with substantial inputs of marine food resources. The Arctic fox settled on Ellesmere Island in a food web with lemmings, thereby switching ecosystems. Our observation supports evidence of gene flow across Arctic regions, including those seasonally bridged by sea ice, found in studies of the circumpolar genetic structure of Arctic fox populations. View the supplementary animation. This article has a related Erratum.

The variability of surface radiation fluxes over landfast sea ice near Zhongshan station, east Antarctica during austral spring

ABSTRACTSurface radiative fluxes over landfast sea ice off Zhongshan station have been measured in austral spring for five springs between 2010 and 2015. Downward and upward solar radiation vary diurnally with maximum amplitudes of 473 and 290 W m−2, respectively. The maximum and minimum long-wave radiation values of the mean diurnal cycle are 218 and 210 W m−2 for downward radiation, 277 and 259 W m−2 for upward radiation and 125 and −52 W m−2 for net radiation. The albedo has a U-shaped mean diurnal cycle with a minimum of 0.64 at noon. Sea ice thickness is in the growth phase for most spring days, but can be disturbed by synoptic processes. The surface temperature largely determines the occurrence of ice melting. Surface downward and upward long-wave radiation show synoptic oscillations with a 5–8 day period and intraseasonal variability with a 12–45 day period. The amplitudes of the diurnal, synoptic and intraseasonal variability show some differences during the five austral springs considered here. The intraseasonal and synoptic variability of downward and upward long-wave radiation are associated with the variability of cloud cover and surface temperature induced by the atmospheric circulation.

On the extraordinary snow on the sea ice off East Antarctica in late winter, 2012

In late winter-early spring 2012, the second Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystems Experiment (SIPEX II) was conducted off Wilkes Land, East Antarctica, onboard R/V Aurora Australis. The sea-ice conditions were characterized by significantly thick first-year ice and snow, trapping the ship for about 10 days in the near coastal region. The deep snow cover was particularly remarkable, in that its average value of 0.45m was almost three times that observed between 1992 and 2007 in the region. To reveal factors responsible, we used in situ observations and ERA-Interim reanalysis (1990–2012) to examine the relative contribution of the different components of the local-regional snow mass balance equation i.e., snow accumulation on sea ice, precipitation minus evaporation (P–E), and loss by (i) snow-ice formation and (ii) entering into leads due to drifting snow. Results show no evidence for significantly high P–E in the winter of 2012. Ice core analysis has shown that although the snow-ice layer was relatively thin, indicating less transformation from snow to snow-ice in 2012 as compared to measurements from 2007, the difference was not enough to explain the extraordinarily deep snow. Based on these results, we deduce that lower loss of snow into leads was probably responsible for the extraordinary snow in 2012. Statistical analysis and satellite images suggest that the reduction in loss of snow into leads is attributed to rough ice surface associated with active deformation processes and larger floe size due to sea-ice expansion. This highlights the importance of snow-sea ice interaction in determining the mean snow depth on Antarctic sea ice.

Late winter under ice pelagic microbial communities in the high Arctic Ocean and the impact of short-term exposure to elevated CO2 levels.

Polar Oceans are natural CO2 sinks because of the enhanced solubility of CO2 in cold water. The Arctic Ocean is at additional risk of accelerated ocean acidification (OA) because of freshwater inputs from sea ice and rivers, which influence the carbonate system. Winter conditions in the Arctic are of interest because of both cold temperatures and limited CO2 venting to the atmosphere when sea ice is present. Earlier OA experiments on Arctic microbial communities conducted in the absence of ice cover, hinted at shifts in taxa dominance and diversity under lowered pH. The Catlin Arctic Survey provided an opportunity to conduct in situ, under-ice, OA experiments during late Arctic winter. Seawater was collected from under the sea ice off Ellef Ringnes Island, and communities were exposed to three CO2 levels for 6 days. Phylogenetic diversity was greater in the attached fraction compared to the free-living fraction in situ, in the controls and in the treatments. The dominant taxa in all cases were Gammaproteobacteria but acidification had little effect compared to the effects of containment. Phylogenetic net relatedness indices suggested that acidification may have decreased the diversity within some bacterial orders, but overall there was no clear trend. Within the experimental communities, alkalinity best explained the variance among samples and replicates, suggesting subtle changes in the carbonate system need to be considered in such experiments. We conclude that under ice communities have the capacity to respond either by selection or phenotypic plasticity to heightened CO2 levels over the short term.

Properties of snow overlying the sea ice off East Antarctica in late winter, 2007

The properties of snow on East Antarctic sea ice off Wilkes Land were examined during the Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem Experiment (SIPEX) in late winter of 2007, focusing on the interaction with sea ice. This observation includes 11 transect lines for the measurement of ice thickness, freeboard, and snow depth, 50 snow pits on 13 ice floes, and diurnal variation of surface heat flux on three ice floes. The detailed profiling of topography along the transects and the d 18O, salinity, and density datasets of snow made it possible to examine the snow-sea-ice interaction quantitatively for the first time in this area. In general, the snow displayed significant heterogeneity in types, thickness (mean: 0.14±0.13 m), and density (325±38 kg m −3), as reported in other East Antarctic regions. High salinity was confined to the lowest 0.1 m. Salinity and d 18O data within this layer revealed that saline water originated from the surface brine of sea ice in 20% of the total sites and from seawater in 80%. From the vertical profiles of snow density, bulk thermal conductivity of snow was estimated as 0.15 W K −1 m −1 on average, only half of the value used for numerical sea-ice models. Although the upward heat flux within snow estimated with this value was significantly lower than that within ice, it turned out that a higher value of thermal conductivity (0.3 to 0.4 W K −1 m −1) is preferable for estimating ice growth amount in current numerical models. Diurnal measurements showed that upward conductive heat flux within the snow and net long-wave radiation at the surface seem to play important roles in the formation of snow ice from slush. The detailed surface topography allowed us to compare the air-ice drag coefficients of ice and snow surfaces under neutral conditions, and to examine the possibility of the retrieval of ice thickness distribution from satellite remote sensing. It was found that overall snow cover works to enhance the surface roughness of sea ice rather than moderate it, and increases the drag coefficient by about 10%. As for thickness retrieval, mean ice thickness had a higher correlation with ice surface roughness than mean freeboard or surface elevation, which indicates the potential usefulness of satellite L-band SAR in estimating the ice thickness distribution in the seasonal sea-ice zone.

Field Investigations of Ku-Band Radar Penetration Into Snow Cover on Antarctic Sea Ice

Monitoring long-term, large-scale changes in the Antarctic sea ice thickness is not currently possible due to the sampling constraints of the ship-based and airborne observations which comprise most of the available thickness data. Satellite radar altimetry has been used to measure sea ice thickness variability in the Arctic where it is assumed that the highest amplitude radar return originates from the snow/ice interface as the Arctic snow is cold and dry; however, this may not be the case in the Antarctic due to more complex snow stratigraphy caused by warmer winter temperatures and frequent snow flooding. We present the first measurements of radar penetration into snow cover on Antarctic sea ice in the Ku-band at which satellite radar altimeters operate. Data were taken using a sled-borne radar on sea ice off East Antarctica during September and October 2007. Radar data and field measurements of snow density, thickness, wetness, and layers were taken over a range of locations including snow packs with flooding, hard crusts, and icy layers. Detailed snow pit studies showed that the snow/ice interface was the dominant scattering surface only for snow without morphological features or flooding. Analysis of transect data showed that the mean depth of the dominant scattering surface of the radar was only around 50% of the mean measured snow depth, indicating that the dominant scattering surface was not always the snow/ice interface for the Antarctic sea ice surveyed.

Frost flower chemical composition during growth and its implications for aerosol production and bromine activation

Frost flowers have been proposed to be the major source of sea‐salt aerosol to the atmosphere during polar winter and a source of reactive bromine during polar springtime. However little is known about their bulk chemical composition or microstructure, two important factors that may affect their ability to produce aerosols and provide chemically reactive surfaces for exchange with the atmosphere. Therefore, we chemically analyzed 28 samples of frost flowers and parts of frost flowers collected from sea ice off of northern Alaska. Our results support the proposed mechanism for frost flower growth that suggests water vapor deposition forms an ice skeleton that wicks brine present on newly grown sea ice. We measured a high variability in sulfate enrichment factors (with respect to chloride) in frost flowers and seawater from the vicinity of freezing sea ice. The variability in sulfate indicates that mirabilite precipitation (Na2SO4 · 10 H2O) occurs during frost flower growth. Brine wicked up by frost flowers is typically sulfate depleted, in agreement with the theory that frost flowers are related to sulfate‐depleted aerosol observed in Antarctica. The bromide enrichment factors we measured in frost flowers are within error of seawater composition, constraining the direct reactive losses of bromide from frost flowers. We combined the chemical composition measurements with temperature observations to create a conceptual model of possible scenarios for frost flower microstructure development.

Ultrasonic tracking of Greenland sharks, Somniosus microcephalus, under Arctic ice

Six Greenland sharks, Somniosus microcephalus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801), 190–355 cm fork length, were tracked under land-fast sea ice off northern Baffin Island (73.2°N; 85.3°W) between 16 and 28 May 1999, using ultrasonic telemetry. The sharks were tracked continuously for periods of 5.5–13.0 h, with the tracks of two individuals lasting 31.4 and 42.8 h, respectively, each with an interval when the track was lost. Several sharks dove after release and moved along the ocean bottom for the duration of the tracking period, while others varied their movements regarding course and depth. Two sharks made repeated visits to within 11 m of the ice–water interface from deeper water. The tracked sharks exhibited no apparent depth or temperature preferences, and pooled data indicated that sharks remained deep during the morning and gradually moved into shallower depths through the afternoon and night. Rates of descent (average=0.099 m s−1) were significantly greater than rates of ascent (average=0.058 m s−1) for all sharks, and the average rate of horizontal movement over ground was estimated as 0.215 m s−1. Based on the movements of tracked sharks and information contained in the literature, S. microcephalus may prey on seals in areas covered by land-fast sea ice.

A polar airstream and sea‐ice off southeast Greenland

A polar airstream and sea‐ice off southeast Greenland

Mathematician on Ice

A winter expedition into frigid Antarctic waters no pleasure cruise. Screaming winds, bone-chilling temperatures, high seas, driving snow, and crunching ice create conditions that try the hardiest of souls. It's an unlikely place to find a mathematician. Last year's 8-week voyage of the icebreaking research vessel Aurora Australis from Tasmania wasn't Kenneth M. Golden's first venture into the Antarctic ice pack. An applied mathematician at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, he had also studied sea ice on three previous Antarctic outings. Foul weather never kept Golden from relishing an Antarctic voyage. I loved watching the waves, he says. When the sun squeaked through storm clouds during the few hours of daylight, he could also enjoy spectacular views of giant icebergs, crumpled ice sheets, and penguins waddling across snow or skimming the water. About four dozen researchers were aboard the icebreaker on its 1999 voyage. Their destination was a sizable region, called a polynya, of open water and thin ice that had appeared in the ice-bound waters near the toe of the Mertz Glacier off the Antarctic coast. The sea-ice pack insulates the ocean from the atmosphere. A hole in this lid permits a significant amount of heat to escape from the water to the much chillier air. At the same time, surface waters cool, become denser, and sink, contributing to ocean circulation (SN: 7/15/00, p. 42). New ice begins to form, filling in the hole. As the boundary layer between ocean and atmosphere in polar regions, sea ice has a significant impact on global climate, Golden notes. Polynyas play a crucial role in energy exchange and ice formation, so the occurrence of one inevitably draws the attention of researchers. On a broader front, sea ice is most important in the context of climate variability and both as an indicator and an agent of climate change, says geophysicist Hajo Eicken of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. The need to understand better the physical properties of sea ice, track its movements, and remotely monitor its thickness, temperature, and roughness has prompted a number of recent studies of its structure. In May at a Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics meeting in Philadelphia on mathematical aspects of materials science, Golden described how new mathematical models have provided insights into the way brine seeps through ice, carrying heat and nutrients. A vast expanse of sea ice off Antarctica's coast.

Blood volume in hooded seals: implications for diving capacity

Plasma volumes of seven adult hooded seals, Cystophora cristata (two males and five females; body mass (M) range = 110-234 kg), captured on sea ice off east of Greenland during breeding (March-April), ranged between 35 and 54 mL/kg M (median = 46.5 mL/kg M). Linear regression analysis of haemoglobin (Hb) concentrations (g/dL) and hematocrit (Hct; %) levels in venous blood yielded: Hb = 0.296Hct + 5.53 (r2= 0.96, n = 7). Aortic Hct of 11 adult and juvenile seals with contracted and dilated spleens ranged between 62 and 67% (median = 66.5%, n = 5) and 50 and 67.5% (58.5%, n = 6), respectively, with the differences between groups being significant (p < 0.05). The calculated blood volume range was 104-162 mL/kg M (median = 139 mL/kg M, n = 7). The skeletal muscle mass of two adult females represented 30.8 and 28.1% of their M. Based on this, the body oxygen store of a 150-kg seal was estimated to be 9.8 L O2, of which only about 0.9 L O2(9%) could be stored in the fully dilated spleen. In assuming a diving aerobic metabolic rate of 1-2 times the predicted basal metabolic rate, the calculated aerobic dive limit was estimated to be 11.3-22.6 min.

Blood volume in hooded seals: implications for diving capacity

Plasma volumes of seven adult hooded seals, Cystophora cristata (two males and five females; body mass (M) range = 110-234 kg), captured on sea ice off east of Greenland during breeding (March-April), ranged between 35 and 54 mL/kg M (median = 46.5 mL/kg M). Linear regression analysis of haemoglobin (Hb) concentrations (g/dL) and hematocrit (Hct; %) levels in venous blood yielded: Hb = 0.296Hct + 5.53 (r2 = 0.96, n = 7). Aortic Hct of 11 adult and juvenile seals with contracted and dilated spleens ranged between 62 and 67% (median = 66.5%, n = 5) and 50 and 67.5% (58.5%, n = 6), respectively, with the differences between groups being significant (p < 0.05). The calculated blood volume range was 104-162 mL/kg M (median = 139 mL/kg M, n = 7). The skeletal muscle mass of two adult females represented 30.8 and 28.1% of their M. Based on this, the body oxygen store of a 150-kg seal was estimated to be 9.8 L O2, of which only about 0.9 L O2 (9%) could be stored in the fully dilated spleen. In assuming a diving aerobic metabolic rate of 1-2 times the predicted basal metabolic rate, the calculated aerobic dive limit was estimated to be 11.3-22.6 min.

Environmental influences on fish and shellfish production in the Northwest Atlantic

Evidence is reviewed, linking physical oceanographic processes in the marine environment to changes in fish and shellfish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic. A case history study of the cod (Gadus morhua) stock of the northern Grand Banks and Labrador Shelf indicates a long slow amelioration of the environment between about 1945 and 1965, followed by a deterioration in the period 1965–1992. The most important environmental factors for the cod stocks appear to have been salinity and temperature. The trends can be traced back to climatic factors involving the Icelandic Low and the Azores–Bermuda High. When the atmospheric pressure difference in winter tended to be high, there was a progressive increase in the area of sea ice off Labrador and in the volume of cold water at depth. These factors have been shown to affect temperature and salinity conditions on the Grand Banks in spring and summer and are associated with poor growth and recruitment in the cod stocks. A similar case study of lobster (Homarus americanus) stocks indicates that temperature and river discharge are important environmental correlates, but neither can be shown to fully account for the recent trends in the stocks. Evidence is reviewed to show that physical environmental processes also influence recruitment and distribution of stocks of haddock, capelin, and squid. Some of the problems with correlational analysis are also discussed. It is recognized that factors other than the environment are influencing the stocks. Fishing mortality (detailed consideration of which is not included in this review) has clearly been important. Interactions between environmental factors and fishing mortality are probably of major importance.Key words: ocean environment, fish production, recruitment, northern cod, American lobster.

East Antarctic sea ice: Albedo, thickness distribution, and snow cover

Characteristics of springtime sea ice off East Antarctica were investigated during a cruise of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition in October through December 1988. The fractional coverage of the ocean surface, the ice thickness, and the snow cover thickness for each of several ice types were estimated hourly for the region near the ship. These observations were carried out continuously during the 4 weeks the ship was in the ice. Thin and young ice types were prevalent throughout the region, and the observations show a systematic increase in the total area‐weighted pack ice thickness (including open water area) from only 0.2 m within 50 km of the ice edge to 0.45 m close to the coast. Ice thickness averaged over the ice‐covered region only is also relatively thin, ranging from 0.35 m near the ice edge to 0.65 m in the interior. These values are probably typical of average winter thickness for the area. The average snow cover thickness on the ice increased from 0.05 m near the ice edge to 0.15 m in the interior. Average ice concentration increased from less than 6/10 near the ice edge to 8/10 in the interior. The ship‐observed concentrations were in good agreement with concentrations derived from passive microwave satellite imagery except in some regions of high concentration. In these regions the satellite‐derived concentrations were consistently lower than those estimated from the ship, possibly because of the inability of the satellite sensors to discriminate the appreciable percentage of very thin ice observed within the total area. Spectral albedo was measured for nilas, young grey ice, grey‐white ice, snow‐covered ice, and open water at wavelengths from 420 to 1000 nm. Allwave albedo was computed by using the spectral measurements together with estimates of near‐infrared albedo and modeled spectral solar flux. Area‐averaged albedos for the East Antarctic sea ice zone in spring were derived from representative allwave albedos together with the hourly observations of ice types. These area‐averaged surface albedos increased from about 0.35 at the ice edge to about 0.5 at 350 km from the edge, remaining at 0.5 to the coast of Antarctica. The low average albedo is in part due to the large fraction of open water within the pack, but extensive fractions of almost snow‐free thin ice also play an important role.

Time and depth comparisons of sub-ice zooplankton in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

Zooplankton was sampled through a hole in the sea ice off Scott Base from 28 October to 17 November 1987. Vertical hauls through 100 m and 300 m were taken to compare with data from the same place two years earlier. Wide variations of abundance occurred for each taxon identified over each occasion, but there is general consistency between abundance and dominance for each species between years. For Clione limacina antarctica 1987 was demonstrably a “poorer” year, but “better” for Limacina helicina and Conchoecia belgicae. Samples taken by nets set to stream with water currents below the ice, showed increasing density of most species (and total zooplankton) with depth, with only Clione antarctica and pilidium larvae more abundant near the surface. Numbers were very low in the top 40 m. Rarer macrozooplankton were caught by using larger nets for longer times at 50 m and deeper.

MEASURING PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTION SPECTRA OF NATURAL PHYTOPLANKTON POPULATIONS1

ABSTRACTThe photosynthetic response, defined as the initial slope of the photosynthesis‐irradiance curve, was determined spectrally (every 25 nm from 400 to 675 nm; 25 nm half‐maximum bandpass) for natural phytoplankton populations from High Arctic, Grand Banks and Sargasso Sea waters, as well as for populations living in the lower margin of sea ice off Newfoundland, All spectra were similar in shape with a maximum at 425–450 nm, a broad shoulder to 550 nm, a valley from 600 to 650 nm and a rise at 675 nm. The error resulting from the use of spectrally averaged initial slope to predict photosynthesis under different optical and fluid dynamical conditions at sea is discussed.

Diamond Jenness (1886-1969)

... Jenness quickly found his curiosity about anthropology blossoming into a vocation. In 1911 he was appointed Oxford Scholar to Papua, New Guinea, where he spent twelve months studying Northern Entrecasteaux. Upon his return to New Zealand, he was asked to join Canadian Arctic Expedition, an ambitious government-funded scientific enterprise under direction of well-known arctic explorers Vilhjalmur Stefansson and R.M. Anderson. In June, 1913, Jenness found himself aboard refitted whaling vessel Karluk steaming northward to Bering Strait and beyond to Beaufort Sea. ... In autumn of 1913, small vessel became locked in sea ice off northern coast of Alaska. Unable to free itself, ship drifted helplessly westward towards Siberian Sea, where it was finally crushed in ice off Wrangel Island. Eight men perished in their bid to reach mainland. By a stroke of fortune, Jenness was not aboard Karluk when she drifted off; he, Stefansson, and several others had left ship earlier on a routine hunting trip. Abandoning hopeless task of searching for Karluk, which was lost to sight when they returned, hunting party headed for Barrow, Alaska to rendezvous with remaining two vessels of expedition, Alaska and Mary Sachs. Jenness spent his first winter at Harrison Bay, Alaska, where he learned to speak Inuktitut, gathered information about Western Eskimo customs and folklore, and experienced at first-hand precarious existence of northern hunter. In spring of 1914, he set out along coast to expedition's base camp at Bernard Harbour in Coronation Gulf region. Here he engaged in one of most important goals of Canadian Arctic Expedition-the study of Copper Eskimos of Victoria Island, a people first brought to attention of civilized world by Stefansson only four years earlier. When Jenness arrived in Coronation Gulf region, only a handful of Europeans had visited land of Copper Eskimo. Merchants had only just begun to ply their trade in area, and missionaries and Northwest Mounted Police were yet to arrive. As a consequence, Copper Eskimo remained largely unaffected by contact with outside world. Jenness, therefore, was charged with recording a virtually pristine aboriginal way of life that would change radically within a generation. Jenness spent two years with these Central Eskimo people, living for one year as adopted son of hunter Ikpukhuak and his shaman wife Higalik. During that time he hunted and traveled with his family, sharing both their festivities and their famine. The monographs and publications that resulted from this field work have been recognized by scholars as the most comprehensive description of a single Eskimo tribe ever written. ... During his tenure with National Museum, Jenness published two seminal articles on northern archaeology. The first paper identified a new prehistoric culture in eastern Arctic - Dorset Culture - which Jenness believed to have preceded Thule Culture (the ancestors of contemporary Inuit) by a millenium or more. The second paper hypothesized Old Bering Sea Culture of Bering Strait area, a complex which Jenness believed not only preceded Thule Culture in western Arctic but which was ancestral to it. Considered radical at time of their publication, these theories are now widely accepted, having been vindicated by carbon-14 dating and subsequent field research. Jeness's interest in Arctic never waned. As late as 1968 he was still articulating his concern for Inuit struggle to survive. Among his last works was a series of five volumes published by The Arctic Institute of North America that reviewed government policies toward Inuit of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. ...

Two descriptions of sea-ice off Iceland from the 1590's : Ogilvie, A. E. J., 1979/1980 Climate Monit., 9(1): 5–11

Two descriptions of sea-ice off Iceland from the 1590's : Ogilvie, A. E. J., 1979/1980 Climate Monit., 9(1): 5–11